Promoting the rights of access to information in Nigeria

CSO urges Nigerians to demand Transparency, Accountability from Public Servants

Abuja– Ms Ene Nwankpa, an official of Right to Know, Nigeria (R2K), a civil society organisation has encouraged Nigerians to demand transparency and accountability from their public servants.

Nwankpa, in an interview on Saturday in Abuja said that Freedom of Information (FOI) act was a tool which empowered the citizens to demand for their right. She urged the public to start to access information through the act, saying “it is the right of the citizens to follow up information on the extent of development in their communities.

“The FOI act is a tool just like a hoe, cutlass; something that you have been given which empowered you to now begin to demand for transparency. “It gives Nigerians power to begin to demand and ask questions on government’s projects. “Because it allows for monetary and evaluation; it allows us to track the success and progress of projects carried out in our communities.

“When the FOI was not in place, you had the official secret act and so you didn’t have the power to go and ask those questions, because everything then was secret. “But the FOI act has empowered us to ensure that the government actually does open its books for people to see the extent of development it has provided to the citizens,’’ she said.

Nwankpa also encouraged public institutions not to refuse any request for information on government activities but should respond and promptly too as they are answerable for public scrutiny.

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The Right To Know (R2K), Nigeria is a dynamic organisation established in 2007 to champion the right to access officially held information at all levels of government public institutions and establishing legal standards for these rights in Nigeria.